2024 ENGLAND GOLF SENIORS COUNTY FINALS

To be played at Torquay Golf Club on Tuesday 8th October - Thursday 10th October with the four qualifying counties being

BB&O, Cornwall, Durham, Lincolnshire

The Lincolnshire squad: Adrian Allan (Belton Park), Kevin Blow (Sleafford), Mark Cooke (Woodhall Spa), Darren Fuller (Cleethorpes), Richard Latham (Woodhall Spa), Colin Nolan (Woodhall Spa), Colin Trestrail (Woodhall Spa), Paul Wharton (Woodhall Spa).

Draw for the match on Tuesday 8th Lincolnshire v Cornwall Foursomes start 8.24am 

This page shall be updated after each day, with live scoring each day through the England Golf website; 

https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/5002411

Tuesday 8th October 

Lincolnshire v Cornwall 

Durham and Cornwall lead the way in the Senior Men’s County Finals after a rain-affected first day of action at Torquay Golf Club.

With heavy rain forecast, tournament organisers decided to start with the singles rather than the foursomes, to try and get as much golf in as possible before the storms. But by 11am the rain flooded the course, making it unplayable, and so play was suspended.

With more heavy rain forecast, Tuesday’s foursomes matches were cancelled, with the hope of getting the singles matches completed to get a result for day one.

Thanks to the dedication of the Torquay greenkeeping staff, they managed to get the course playable to allow enough time to complete the singles from 2pm.

Cornwall 3.5-2.5 Lincolnshire

Mike Reynard (Cornwall) took on Darren Fuller in the first match with Reynard leading 2-up at the rain break after 10 holes. The key moment came just after the interval as Reynard hit a driver and two-iron into the tricky 11th to win the hole with par, while he stiffed it on the 12th to go 4-up. He eventually sealed a 4&3 win after a 20-foot birdie putt on the 14th.

Wharton’s recent England Seniors’ foursomes partner, Ian Ashenden, was on the opposing team on Tuesday, taking on Lincolnshire’s Kevin Blow. Blow’s brilliant short game saw him get up and down on a number of occasions, with there never being more than one hole in the contest. Ashenden sent a beauty to 12 feet on the 18th and looked set to win but his putt horsehoed out to finish the match all-square.

Mark Blaber (Cornwall) was neck-and-neck with Adrian Allen in another match where there was never more than a hole in it. In a thrilling finale, Allen holed out from 118 yards for an eagle on the 16th to level the match before Blaber stuck his sand wedge to three feet to birdie the 17th. A fine up-and-down on the last earned him a tense 1-up win.

Colin Trestrail (Lincolnshire) was 1-down to Simon Knowles after 8 thanks to some marvellous up-and-downs from Knowles to mere inches on holes 5 and 6. Both hit tee shots to four feet for birdie on the par-3 9th but Trestrail won holes 10-12 to stretch ahead before seeing out a 3&2 win.

Ian Veale (Cornwall) was 3-down through 6 as Richard Latham was below-par and in fine form. However, the rain halted proceedings and after play resumed, Veale won four of the next five holes to go ahead, including a 40-foot birdie putt on 9 and a chip stone-dead for birdie on 10. Latham responded with a 40-foot birdie putt on 13 before Veale made a key eight-foot par putt on 16. The 17th provided drama with both teams watching on, as Latham looked to fight back and level things for his team. Sadly, his drive found one of the small bushes up towards the green, and a penalty drop saw him finish with bogey as Veale’s 10-foot par putt sealed a 2&1 win, and a 3.5-2.5 win for Cornwall.  

Wednesday 9th 0ctober 

Lincolnshire v Durham

Lincolnshire turned adversity into strength as they produced a mesmerising 7-2 victory over Durham on day two of the Senior Men’s County Finals at Torquay Golf Club.

Overnight, Lincolnshire’s Mark Cooke was taken ill and forced to withdraw from Wednesday’s matches, but his teammates were spurred into action as they won the morning foursomes 2-1 before a stunning singles showing in the afternoon, as they beat Durham 5-1.

Earlier in the day, BB&O (Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire) stormed to a 3-0 win in the morning foursomes against Cornwall, but despite Cornwall coming back to win the singles 4-2, they were pipped 5-4 overall.

The results mean each team has won one match apiece, with Lincolnshire leading the way on game points after their huge victory.

Morning Foursomes: Lincolnshire 2-1 Durham

John Kennedy and Nicholas Mansell (Durham) went 2-up after 5 against Kevin Blow and Darren Fuller (pictured above) thanks to Mansell rolling in a 15-footer on the 5th. Kennedy then drove pin-high by the 10th but the pair weren’t able to capitalise with a birdie, as the teams halved seven holes on the trot until Mansell rolled a tricky putt stone dead on 14 to take Durham 2-up, and they then cruised to a 3&2 win.

Richard Latham and Colin Trestrail (Lincolnshire) galloped into a 5-up lead through 10, which could have been more had it not have been for two three-putts. Their Durham opponents Brian Nelson and Nigel King then won 11 and Nelson knocked in an 18-foot birdie putt to win 12. However, the Durham pairing missed a short putt to win 13 and Latham rolled in a clutch 12-footer up the hill to par the 14th to stay 3-up, before he and Trestrail sealed a 4&3 win.

Paul Wharton and Adrian Allen (Lincolnshire) halved the 6th with George Wraith and Bryan Ross in birdies, after Allen hit the flag with his tee shot. On the par-3 12th, Allen’s shot hit the path and bounced all the way to the 13th tee, but Wharton’s chip and Allen’s putt helped them to recover a remarkable par to halve the hole. Ross rolled in a 20-footer as a great up-and-down halved the 13th, but Lincolnshire soon sailed to a 3&2 win.

Afternoon Singles: Lincolnshire 5-1 Durham

Despite Richard Latham (Lincolnshire, pictured below) and Brian Nelson halving the first four holes, Latham barely made a mistake for the rest of the round, as he stuck his approach to three feet on the 8th for birdie and sank a 20-foot putt to win the 14th on route to a 5&4 win.

Darren Fuller (Lincolnshire) took on John Kennedy with Fuller birdieing 7 and 8 to take the lead. Kennedy drove the 10th and was given his six-foot eagle putt before Fuller responded on the par-5 13th to be given his eagle putt after sticking his approach to six feet. The pair enjoyed several birdies apiece in their match, but Fuller did superbly to keep his ball on the 15th green and won the hole with par before he tapped in his close par putt on 18 to hold on for a 1-up victory.

Anthony Black (Durham) challenged England Seniors star Paul Wharton in a tight contest. Wharton drove the 8th but three-putted to miss an opportunity to go 2-up and Black battled back to win holes 11-15, including a good birdie putt on the par-5 13th. Wharton got unlucky on the 14th as his tee shot got stuck in the bunker face where he was unable to get out with his second shot, and despite Black being in the trees off the tee on 15, he produced a world-class recovery shot from 180 yards, cutting his 3-wood to the green to set up par for the win, as Wharton’s approach hit the top tier and spun back off the front of the green! The Lincoln man did nail a 15-foot birdie putt to win 16 and despite taking the match down the last, his 20-foot putt looked set to drop before evading the hole and Black’s tap-in sealed a 1-up win.

Adrian Allen (Lincolnshire) took on Nicholas Mansell with there never being more than one hole in the contest. Mansell’s tee shot on 5 took a fortunate bounce off the tree when it looked set to go out of bounds, but he made it count as he hit a good approach and holed a 15-footer to win the hole. Mansell then stuck a 7-iron to four feet on the 12th for birdie and hit a chip stone-dead to win the 15th. Despite leading with two holes to play, Mansell ended up on the wrong end of a 1-up scoreline as Allen knocked his approach to five feet for birdie on 17 and a three-putt at the last from the Durham man handed Lincoln’s Allen the win.

Colin Trestrail (Lincolnshire) was never behind in his match with Nigel King and was 3-up through 7 with some steady golf. A 15-foot par putt to win the 11th proved pivotal after King had won back two holes, and Trestrail went on to seal a 5&3 win thanks to two fine approach shots to set up birdie putts on 12 and 15.

Kevin Blow (Lincolnshire) was never behind in his contest with Ian Hendry. Blow scrambled well to win the 8th with par to go 3-up before Hendry made several key up-and-downs, particularly on 11 and 12, but Blow kept his composure to win 2&1.

Thursday 10th October

Lincolnshire v B,B,&O

Cornwall won the Senior Men’s County Finals for the first time ever, as they pipped Lincolnshire in a tense final day at Torquay Golf Club.

Despite having lost their morning foursomes to Durham, Cornwall bounced back to win their afternoon singles and 5-4 overall, meaning that if BB&O (Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire) could draw or only narrowly beat Lincolnshire, Cornwall would lift the trophy.

Lincolnshire were searching for their first-ever title too, and led 2-1 after the morning foursomes. But in a dramatic finish, BB&O’s Gary Mumford held on against Paul Wharton to win the final singles match on the final hole, which finished the overall match 4.5-4.5, and handed Cornwall the title.

Lincolnshire had picked up the most game points overall with 14, more than Cornwall’s 12.5, but Cornwall's two victories overall meant they took the trophy.

Lincolnshire’s Colin Trestrail was the player of the tournament, winning all five of his matches played. Read how the final day's action unfolded below.

Morning Foursomes: BB&O 1-2 Lincolnshire

All three matches went right to the 18th hole and yielded 1-up winners.

Richard Lee and Gary Mumford (BB&O) took on Paul Wharton and Adrian Allen, with Allen sticking it to six feet to win the 1st before Wharton rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt on the 7th. Lee drove the 10th to set up birdie to win the hole and then knocked in a 15-foot putt from off the green to win the 11th with par. Wharton responded by draining a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-3 12th but the BB&O pairing went 2-up after mistakes from their opponents on 15 and 16. Allen’s approach to eight feet set up birdie on 17 to take it down the last, and despite the pressure on, Lee landed a 10-foot par putt which sealed a tense victory, 1-up to BB&O.

Darren Fuller and Kevin Blow (Lincolnshire) took on John Kennedy and Chris Harrison and hit to 15 feet on 4 to be given the birdie putt in what went on to be a topsy-turvy encounter. Fuller drove through the green on 10 with Blow’s brilliant chip to tap-in distance winning the hole, before then getting out the sand on 13 for a good up-and-down to win 12. Harrison hammered his 3-wood to the green to set up birdie for BB&O on 14 but they conceded an eight-foot birdie putt on 16 as Lincoln led going down the last. Kennedy shaved the hole with his birdie putt to halve the match on 18, before Fuller slotted his short putt to seal another 1-up victory, this time to Lincolnshire.

Richard Latham and Colin Trestrail (Lincolnshire, pictured below) played out another thriller with Martyn Metcalfe and Stewart Dalgarno. Latham made crucial putts on 7 and 8, with the 12-foot birdie putt halving the hole on 8, after Dalgarno had hit his chip stone-dead. Metcalfe then knocked in a 25-foot birdie putt downhill to win 9 before Trestrail stiffed his approach to earn Lincoln the win on 11. Latham made a pivotal 30-foot putt for birdie on the par-5 13th before a calm tee shot on 18 set up a comfortable par to see out the win 1-up for Lincolnshire.

Afternoon Singles: BB&O 3.5-2.5 Lincolnshire

Richard Lee was 4-up against Darren Fuller through 9 but a turning point came on 10 where Fuller chipped to five feet to win with birdie. He then dug away at Lee, holing a key 15-foot birdie putt on 16 but then proceeded to three-putt the 17th as Lee had his lead back going down the last. However, there was one last twist, with Fuller producing an exquisite tee shot to two feet for birdie to halve a good match.

Adrian Allen (Lincolnshire) took on Mike Sanders with Sanders sending a beauty just short of the 7th before stiffing it close for birdie to win the hole. Allen then knocked in a 15-foot birdie putt on 8 before Sanders got up-and-down from by the 10th green and stuck an approach to five feet on 12 to level the match. But Allen edged ahead on 16 before tremendous birdies halved the 17th as Allen hit to 18 inches and Sanders nearly holed out for eagle. But on 18, Allen hit the green to seal the match 2-up.

George Wilson was BBO’s only unbeaten player as he won all three of his matches at the tournament. A good putt on 5 and a chip close on 10 earned birdies before a superb long shot into 15 saw Kevin Blow concede the game 5&3.

John Kennedy (BB&O) was 2-down to Richard Latham after Latham showed his putting prowess with a 30-footer at the 1st and 20-footers for birdies on 2 and 4. But Kennedy knocked one to three feet on 9 and the turning point came on 13 as he hit his approach to eight feet for an eagle, setting up a 3&2 win.

Colin Trestrail (Lincolnshire) ended his week in scintillating style as he won 3&2 against Stewart Dalgarno. Mistakes gifted one another holes throughout but a Trestrail birdie at 9 where he hit to eight feet, started a streak of three winning holes. Despite Dalgarno’s 30-foot beauty on 12, the Lincoln man made it five wins from five matches played.

That left Gary Mumford (BB&O) and Paul Wharton’s match deciding whether it would be Cornwall or Lincolnshire lifting the trophy. Mumford had a narrow lead thanks to a great downhill birdie putt on 9, and despite driving the 10th, he three-putted whereas Wharton got up-and-down from the bunker to win the hole. Wharton rattled in a 20-footer uphill on 12 before Mumford stuck one to five feet to win the 14th. Mumford hit a miracle chip from the trees to three feet to halve the 15th but the big turning point came on 17. With Wharton looking set to birdie and level the match, he missed his short putt, when a half would’ve been good enough to see Lincolnshire lift the title. But sadly for him, pars down the last gave BB&O the win 1-up, and a 4.5-4.5 tie in the overall match, sending Cornwall into celebrations as they claimed their first ever title.

 GALLERY